Chapter 08: Tsubaki’s Flower Smells Amazing When Improved

“Eek—so daring!”

“That’s something you’d do with your boyfriend, huh?”

“Tsubaki’s cousin-senpai looks totally annoyed about being clung to…”

Ignoring the surprised voices of her friends, Tsubaki presses her head repeatedly against Daikichi’s back and says, “Of course, I wouldn’t hate it, right, Kii‑kun?”
(Note: Tsubaki has several ways of addressing Daikichi; besides calling him “Scrub,” she also calls him “Kii‑kun.”)

A deep, long, heavy sigh escapes from Daikichi.

“Ah… what have I done…”

“What have you done? Fell for me, huh? Gee, if I’m loved that much, I’d be in trouble too.”

“I’d like to ask where you get all that energy from, but… for now, could you let go?”

“If I let go, you’ll run away, Kii‑kun.”

Tsubaki says similar things to Sakurazaki, but it’s true that Daikichi is a boy prone to running away. The reason for his flight varies with the person, but in Tsubaki’s case, it’s simply because he hates being treated like a toy.

“Let’s go have some fun~!”

With Tsubaki laughing cheerily “Ahhaha,” and being captured and surrounded by her group of friends, Daikichi is whisked away into town in the blink of an eye.

If it were someone with a significant age difference like Sachiko, Daikichi might take it kindly, but being at the mercy of someone only a year or two apart makes him feel belittled—almost to the point of tears.

However, once she’s clung onto him, he can’t forcefully break free—doing so might hurt her. Tsubaki is especially delicate; unlike Sakurazaki or Eleanor, she has a slender, fragile build. So Daikichi chooses to quietly go along with her.

After that, as Daikichi is led around by Tsubaki, he notices that a sweet scent, reminiscent of some cosmetic, occasionally wafts by, tickling his nostrils. Even though they’re still in middle school—no, exactly because they’re in middle school—Tsubaki seems to have taken an interest in that kind of allure. But still, Daikichi thinks she might be overdoing it.

“Tsubaki…”

“What?”

“Hey, isn’t that cosmetic smell a bit too strong? I don’t know what kind you’re using, but aren’t you overdoing it? Your uncle and aunt will scold you.”

“Ha, haa~~~??? I’m not putting on that much, though!”

Upon Daikichi’s remark, Tsubaki blushes bright red with embarrassment. Her friends, witnessing this, burst into uproarious laughter.

“Senpai, senpai, there’s a balm for moisturizing lips, and Tsubaki recently bought a new one. She says it smells so good that she’s been using it instead of perfume—slathering it on behind her ears!”

“I told her to stop, you know. I said that instead of doing that, she’d be better off with a light spritz of perfume. My family’s in the cosmetics business, so I told her we have plenty. But she said, ‘No way—I can think for myself!’ Now her ears and wrists are all sticky.”

“Balm has such a faint scent that until it really comes through, Tsubaki just overdoes it.”

“Well, Tsubaki isn’t exactly into makeup, so cut her some slack.”

“She just wanted to feel a bit more grown-up, after all.”

After her secret was exposed and she was teased by everyone, Tsubaki, still smiling with beads of sweat dotting her face, quietly slipped away from Daikichi.

Even though people around had been saying all sorts of things, Daikichi was a little surprised to see Tsubaki act so coyly.
(So Tsubaki reacts like this too… maybe when you’re in your third year of middle school, you start feeling shy depending on the situation.)
He silently concluded, “I see.”

Then two of Tsubaki’s girl friends circled around Daikichi and forcefully linked arms with him.
The sudden turn of events startled Daikichi, but he quickly realized it was all to tease Tsubaki—both girls were grinning mischievously at her.

“W-what’s going on? What’s happening?”

“Senpai, you’re so cool!”

“Right?”

“I want to dress you in clothes that suit you and just gobble you up!”

“‘Gobble you up’—that sounds way too old-manish; it’s hilarious. Are you trying to be funny?”

“Absolutely. Boys like that kind of talk, don’t they? They even get the wrong idea—thinking that if you’re a bit old-fashioned, it means you’re open to getting close.”

“So, you’re that type? I didn’t expect you to be so used to boys. But then again, does this mean Tsubaki—who’s never even been kissed—has just encountered a formidable opponent?”

He understood that at their age, they like to snatch someone else’s toy to tease and even assert a bit of dominance. And since he was the only one not used to such antics, he thought Tsubaki, being one of the same gender, should have sensed it immediately… Yet, Tsubaki couldn’t keep her cool. Apparently, she was genuinely angry at having her toy—Daikichi—taken away, as even her hair seemed to stand on end.

“Y-you guys~!! Kii‑kun is our cousin, you know!?”

“So what?”

“Does that have anything to do with being angry?!”

“Let go!”

Tsubaki, with tears welling in her eyes, began pulling her friends away from Daikichi one by one. With a low, battle-ready growl like a cat, she stepped in front of her friends to shield Daikichi.

“Scram!”

Her friends, showing no sign of remorse and clearly amused by her reaction, burst into laughter as they teased, “Kya~ Tsubaki, Tsubaki, you’re mad!” and “Love you, love you, love you, Tsubaki‑chan!” before dispersing.

Amid the noisy chaos, Daikichi let out yet another deep sigh—one he’d lost count of today. Then, perhaps feeling bad for dragging everyone into this, Tsubaki lowered her gaze apologetically.

“…I’m sorry.”

She murmured softly.

Daikichi, who had expected her to keep being cheeky a bit longer, was taken aback by her response and involuntarily shrugged his shoulders. Unable to find the right words immediately, he could only watch as Tsubaki fidgeted.

“…Those guys don’t really care about you, Kii‑kun, you know?”

“Well, yeah… something like that. But more importantly, are you sure your friends are okay with getting so combative? Won’t they end up fighting later?”

“You worry about me? For someone you call ‘Scrub,’ you’re pretty thoughtful. But it’s fine—friends always say whatever they want to each other.”

It seemed there was no need to worry about her friendships after all, as Tsubaki, laughing, playfully punched Daikichi’s side.

“Man, Tsubaki’s friends sure are lively.”

“They’re way too energetic.”

“I see. Well then… I think I’ll head home.”

“Eh? Do you have something to do?”

“No, not really. Precisely because I have nothing, I was thinking of going home and doing some studying.”

“Isn’t that just another way of saying you’re bored?”

“I’m not bored just because I’m studying.”

“No, I mean, isn’t it that you’re so bored that you decided to study?”

Tsubaki, persistently pressing the point, looked up at Daikichi with a dubious gaze. Daikichi immediately sensed she wasn’t about to let him go easily.

“If you’re bored, I’m bored too… Since we’re here, why don’t we keep playing—just the two of us?”

Tsubaki clearly intended to spend her free time with Daikichi. Although Daikichi had anticipated this, he couldn’t come up with a clever retort.

“I mean, wouldn’t it be nice if you, Tsubaki, found a hobby or something to spend your time on… That’s what I think.”

“My hobby is playing with you, Kii‑kun.”

“Calling that a hobby feels a bit off.”

“Hmm, it is a hobby.”

“…”

“Come on, let’s go, let’s go~!”

Casually, Tsubaki took Daikichi’s arm and started walking toward the downtown area. With it turned out like this, Daikichi felt he’d have no choice but to tag along with her for a while, and he slumped his head in resignation.